One Piece: Strong World Review
by Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran
One Piece: Strong World is a 2009 movie written by Eiichiro Oda – the creator of One Piece – featuring the ever-charming Straw Hat Pirates on another adventure fighting an overpowered ability: in this case, gravity manipulation. The aforementioned crew decide to go back to their home in the East Blue only to come across a gravity-defying villain, Golden Lion Shiki, in need of a navigator. His efforts lead to the kidnapping of the Straw Hat navigator, Nami, as well scattering the crew on a floating island filled with savage, genetically-mutated monsters. Furthering the dilemma, Shiki presents Nami with an ultimatum – join his crew or see the demise of her friends and home. This is a Nami and Luffy-centric story, focusing on the cost of friendship and one’s personal allegiance in the face of sentimental stakes. This story fits somewhere between the Thriller Bark and Sabaody Archipelago arc (respectively Season 10 and 11).
It is no secret that a lot of One Piece’s notoriety comes from its rather immense episode count. In fact, by the time of this article, it will be celebrating its 1000th episode – a commendable feat for any show. I can say as someone who is on Season 15 – the Fishman Island arc – this journey is an engaging one. The show is fun and filled to the brim with a child-like whimsy that, as a somewhat jaded anime fan, I find incredibly refreshing.
For the first leg of the movie, I was reminded of why I enjoyed the series in the first place. Seeing Luffy witness these ferocious, goofy-looking monsters beating each other up and eventually joining in the fray with his developed powers is nothing short of fun. Even the banter amongst the Straw Hat crew in naively accepting Golden Lion Shiki’s offer to visit the floating island is charming. Not to mention, Shiki is an appropriately intimidating villain – manipulating objects to float, from dumbbells to islands, and even enhancing creatures for an eventual rampage across the world makes him a formidable foe for the Straw Hats.
However, it does come across like any other shonen movie to me: good guys go to a new area, meet bad guy and new characters (which we may never see again in the series), funny antics ensue, first fight ends in failure, then the second fight ends in success thanks to the hero’s ultimate/new ability, and the power of friendship at the very end for a happy ending.
Ultimately a lot of one’s own entertainment involves two factors your initial engagement with the series and, most notably your enjoyment – or more pessimistically, tolerance – for this general shonen movie format. This is not a movie for newcomers; characters are not given much development beyond their unique characteristics and abilities – whether it would be Sanji’s, the Straw Hat’s chef’s, obsession with beautiful women or Zoro’s, the Straw Hat’s ace swordsman’s (and arguably One Piece’s sole “cool” character), three sword technique and tendency to get lost. Crew members are not given much screen time due to the limited runtime and an expansive crew of characters, specifically the mechanic Frankie and historian Nico Robin are sidelined as expository tools for the movie. But other characters received a surprising amount, such as Brook – the skeletal musician. Simply put, if you did your homework, you know what you are getting yourself into. For me, however, even having prior knowledge and familiarity with the series did not make for an enjoyable experience due to the glaring shonen movie format. I already know where the story beats are going to be – Shiki’s nefarious plans are revealed in exposition, Luffy loses the first match, and even Nami’s message – most of it felt predictable.
Even as a film for the fans, I do not think it provides enough fan service as an action shonen. There is not a lot of time dedicated to the Straw Hat crew, and this cannot be more emphasized than the climax when the Straw Hats come in with guns a blazing – shooting Shiki’s men mafioso style. On paper, this is awesome, yet the execution is squandered with little uniqueness: simple explosions, people falling, and still shots. The set piece is budgeted at best and lazy at worst. Put simply, there was a lack of animation or effort put into making these fights flashy and dynamic as they would in the series. Even when they show a moment of the crew fighting with their unique, individual abilities, it is not prominent enough to make for a unique Straw Hat fight.
This movie is not for me. In comparison, I still prefer the zany – albeit budgeted – series over this any day as it provides more time for characters, world-building, and weirdness. If you are a fan of the series, there is charm to be found in small doses. One Piece will always have a massive following – and while this movie does a little of the charm that made the series such a mainstay, it is serviceable at best and does not go above and beyond the general shonen format.
You can watch One Piece: Strong World on select theaters: Sunday November 7 (Dub) and Tuesday November 9 (Sub)
Many thanks to Scott Barretto of Publicity Partners for the screener and review opportunity.